how much is enough?

[wareagle69]

well with all the crazy weather making it safer to stay home be it snow or ice or for asny other reason that you have for laying in supplies do you know how much you really have? this is a question i have recently asked my self.
Do you know how many meals that bag of rice makes? how bout that bag o beans? box of cereal? family sized can of ravioli (family sized yeah right)
my findings are all about being organized(future thread) start with making a meal plan for emergency scenario make a 7 meal plan for each meal (7 breakys 7 lunch 7 dinner and snacks) then you can rotate each weekly so if day one is beans you need to lay in how many meals 1 meal 1 time a week lets say 12 prtions for a 3 month supply minus leftovers, learn to cook only what is needed. but what else would you have for dinner with those beans? for me most likely it would be rice and tortillas with sour cream(powdered) and hot sauce.
By doing all this you will know what to prepare and also how long it will last you, for me i stock for me and the wife so if i have 2 more people it would either shorten my supply or i would need to ration out my food

just food for thought my freinds

[Rick]

I've thought of that but, honestly, I don't want to be a slave to an inventory list.

"Let's see, I used two cans of tomatoes, one can of beans..." and update the list, etc.

Just not for me. However, it is a good idea and I can certainly see the benefit if you were off grid and only acquire supplies periodically. That would be a must do, I would think. Otherwise, I rotate stocks as I bring it in and that seems to work for us.

[canid]

i voted 3 months.

this needn't apply to everything, but non-perishable things like grains, it's easy to gradually build up a stock, and convenient to dip into it when the grocery budget starts getting thin.

having 20lb of beans and 40lb of rice on hand has made my life significantly more comfortable in the past.

[wareagle69]

i see your point rick, i basically have a grocery store in my basement. If i use a can of tomatoes and mushrooms in the kitchen then i go downstairs and bring up what i used.but i will also buy in bulk when something goes on sale such as peanut butter, i have 20 jars of the stuff on the shleves and am currently eating out of one that supposedly expired in may of 09.
one of my questions tho is how long does that bag of rice last? is 5 -15kg bags enough? or should you lay in more supplies/
and i have to disagree i don't think this is just limited to us living out in the country, during major snow or ice storm or flue out break or worse i think it is something we all should take inventory of.
some things you can't store enough of such as french vanilla powdered creamer those a great barter items but also to use

[oly]

3 months of cereals should be sufficient for the winter months for me.

[wareagle69]

got milk?......

[Sourdough]

I voted one year. This is something I just realized about two months ago, when I moved it all from the the small cabin location, over to the place I am House-sitting. Like Rick, I don't care about the inventory. I will point out that now that the only physical labor I am currently doing is haul warm water to the geese, and that is on the snow machine. So, I eat much less food, and have put on about 8 pounds of survival "FAT" in the last 60 days.

In moving I found lots of food that the use by date was 5 or more years ago, for example 8 large bags of "Craisens" (dried cranberries) that were so hard they could have been used to load shotgun shells. so, I just stewed them for a few minutes and add them to pancake mix or oatmeal.

[canid]

i'd have a year of food stored, if i didn't have to keep dipping into it.

before i moved, i had an enormous stock of canned goods [thanks in great part to a friend who had previously moved]. unfortunately, much of it was stuff i wouldn't use much, or at least enjoy using [96 cans of tomato paste anybody?], which speaks volumes for storing what you eat, but i was able to get creative, and eat what i stored much of the time anyway.

i could not for the life of me figure out what to do with three cases of black olives. i like 'em, but not that much.

[Sourdough]

I wish this food subject garnered a lot more interest, but it just ain't sexy like survival knives and survival guns (I can believe I said that in public). I am not into wild edible plants, but I like hearing about different store bought foods that mix well, and will keep one alive.

I like experimenting with mixing foods, Like: Powered Milk, Raisins, Peanut Butter, and thicken it up with Cornbread mix, and oatmeal. I have found that any food can be folded into pancake mix and eaten. I throw away ZERO Food.
OK, I throw away coffee grounds.

[wareagle69]

well when i started storing food was just after the blackout of 03 i still have some of the beans i bought after 6 yrs they are still good but not what i eat much of more of the pasta on my end and rice looking more a dehydrated foods and trying to make them taste good
funny thing sourdough, althought the topic of food is not a "sexy "one as you put it funny how when a storm comnes up folks run to the store to buy food don't see tem crowing the knife store and stripping the shelves clean, it is a neccesity that most ignore until supply runs out
i aim to change folks minds on this

[canid]

if it can't be incorporated into pancake mix, it can go in cornbread, bannock, etc. if it can't, it ain't food.

[gryffynklm]

I voted for one year for my wife and I. Right now I'm at two months. A little short of my goal. Like every one else. I'm stocking by taking advantage of sales and when there is room in the budget. We have family visit on holidays. This last Christmas we had 4 visiting. We had some weather not real bad just didn't want to drive in it. We were covered. If there was a an emergency or situation that required a longer stay, one year of stores puts me in a better position to take care of family.





I keep a running tally as part of my shopping list. I then transfer to an inventory tally.

[Winnie]

I voted 3 months and that's my aim, not there yet. I agree it's an important subject. And not just prepping for bad weather, although that's my main reason. At the moment it's about 6 weeks, but things would get pretty boring towards the end. So, I'm still a work in progress, a bit like my school report, could do better!
Sourdough has hit the nail on the head, it's not "sexy" it's a boring subject and easily overlooked but panic buying over here is proof it's a necessity.

[wareagle69]

goals are nice folks, but how long can goals take to accomplish. i am looking at real time scenario, if the computer clicked off right now, the oh crap it really happened how long can you eat for. right here right now.

[Sourdough]

goals are nice folks, but how long can goals take to accomplish. i am looking at real time scenario, if the computer clicked off right now, the oh crap it really happened how long can you eat for. right here right now.

One year plus at current consumption rate. maybe 18 months if I switched to short rations. Plus an entire National Forest Full of Meat. The Ocean and a River are only one hundred yards away, full of fish, seal, whales, crabs, etc.

[hunter63]

I vote for the one year supply, of staples.
That is a goal, but in reality we are good for at least 3 months on staples, canned, frozen(provided the power doesn't go out).
Fresh foods would become more seasonal.
Convenice foods are pretty much gone from the diet for a lot of reasons, though I do like a pizza once in a while.
Problem would be storage, and transportation, as we do change locations, city house, cabin, DD house out of state.

[gryffynklm]

Sorry, I'd correct it if I could. So never mind.

In that case i would be totally screwed. I'm in IL. (one week food at best) Wife in WV were the food stores are.

[Sarge47]

Actually that's my wifes department. We have lots of non-perishable food stored up, with more in 3 freezers, counting the one on the fridge! The place we're living in provides only the best for survival planning. They bless us with power failures once or twice a month, dispite what the weather is doing.

I live right at the edge of town. I'm surrounded on three sides with wooded areas that provides homes for squirrels, rabbits, deer & coyotes. We have the guns needed to take what we need that way as well.

WE, might I recommend a poll on the proper clothing next?

[Winnie]

Got a couple of rabbit warrens out back, and a stream nearby, so I think I could up to nearly 3 months with some cautious wild harvesting. Seasonal fruit, veg and wild edibles would also stretch the stores quite a bit. But at this very moment, 6-8 weeks. I can feel some more shopping coming on.

[Sourdough]

Sorry, I'd correct it if I could. So never mind.
In that case i would be totally screwed. I'm in IL. (one week food at best) Wife in WV were the food stores are.

Administrator/Mods......??? why can't people change their voting....? Why is it locked.

Location, Location, Location.........gryffynklm validates Kevin's signature: "If it's not in your pack its useless, if you can't reach your pack it is useless". This is why I labored to haul all this food over here, knowing it has to be moved back in 5 months. However I have now put all my "eggs" in one location, which could prove fatal. At the cabin food was stored in several different locations.